: A visit to Mystic :
Here are some pictures of our visit to Mystic, Connecticut last week. We visited the aquarium and the Mystic Seaport area, where sailing ships have been built and launched for hundreds of years. The spot has become kind of a ren-fest with a nautical theme.
At the historic seaport, we stopped at the Shipsmith Shop and watched a ship smith at the forge making iron implements. This shop was built in 1885 in Massachusetts and is the only manufactory of ironwork for the whaling industry known to have survived from the 19th century.
The main attraction at the seaport is the wooden whaleship Charles W. Morgan, built in 1841. It was amazing going down into the hold and seeing how the crew lived and worked in such cramped conditions built for people much smaller than we were.
On the deck of the Morgan, some of the seaport tour guides conducted an impromptu jam session with a banjo and an accordion, while others demonstrated intricate rope braiding techniques.
We also saw a replica of the famous ship Amistad (called Freedom Schooner Amistad, launched in 2000), which was featured in a movie of the same name by Steven Spielberg a few years back. The original Spanish slave ship was the site of a pre-Civil War slave rebellion on the high seas, and the rebels were tried in an American court and eventually allowed to return home to Africa.
While we had lots of fun, we did not get to visit the famous Mystic Pizza parlor, the scene of another movie starring Julia Roberts in 1988. Maybe next time.
At the historic seaport, we stopped at the Shipsmith Shop and watched a ship smith at the forge making iron implements. This shop was built in 1885 in Massachusetts and is the only manufactory of ironwork for the whaling industry known to have survived from the 19th century.
The main attraction at the seaport is the wooden whaleship Charles W. Morgan, built in 1841. It was amazing going down into the hold and seeing how the crew lived and worked in such cramped conditions built for people much smaller than we were.
On the deck of the Morgan, some of the seaport tour guides conducted an impromptu jam session with a banjo and an accordion, while others demonstrated intricate rope braiding techniques.
We also saw a replica of the famous ship Amistad (called Freedom Schooner Amistad, launched in 2000), which was featured in a movie of the same name by Steven Spielberg a few years back. The original Spanish slave ship was the site of a pre-Civil War slave rebellion on the high seas, and the rebels were tried in an American court and eventually allowed to return home to Africa.
While we had lots of fun, we did not get to visit the famous Mystic Pizza parlor, the scene of another movie starring Julia Roberts in 1988. Maybe next time.
